Kusunoki's Flunking Her High School Glow-Up 1

by Mitsuki Mii

[Quirky Cat]

Summary:

Keisuke Shizuki was burned once by a popular and pretty girl, and he swore to himself that it would never happen again. He used his transition into high school as an excuse to overhaul his life.

First, he changed his looks and style, and last, he worked hard to come off as “normal” and “average” (and not nerdy) as possible. Everything was going according to plan until he bumped into Kusunoki, a girl from his old school. It seems like she had a similar plan but needs some help to achieve her goals.

Review:

Hooray, it's time for another manga with a long title! But seriously, Kusunoki's Flunking Her High School Glow-Up Vol. 1 is not what I expected. First, there's the obvious - I thought that Kusunoki would have been the main POV (the title and cover indicate that), but it's actually Keisuke Shizuki.

There's a reason for it, and the sort of twist works out. It's not the deepest manga out there, plus it has fun with the whole romantic comedy meets coming-of-age trope, with a high school overhaul twist.

I think I would have liked the story more if more of the characters felt…real or human? Keisuke Shizuki learns to hate women/girls because of one bad experience (which, okay, it was pretty bad, but still). This is one of many examples of girls behaving badly or just not acting like people. It's not the best look/take. Even Kusunoki seems helpless without a male lead. I don't know; maybe I'm reading too much into it.

Highlights:
Romantic Comedy
Coming-of-Age
High School Drama

Will I continue the series? Maybe

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